simple ways to teach your kids every day

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How do I keep the kids entertained while I mow the lawn? Water painting. All you need is a bucket of water, paintbrushes, and a fence. It’s free and it’s fun and it doesn’t make a mess. Plus kids can practice all kinds of things:

letters

numbers

counting

patterns- use the fence pickets

math problems

sight words or spelling words

shapes

and my daughters’ favorite: splattering

It isn’t the same as practicing handwriting with a pencil and paper, but that’s the point. Sometimes kids need a break from the routine. Novelty makes learning fun. Who wouldn’t want to practice their spelling words outside with a paintbrush in the sunshine instead of at the kitchen table?

One of the easiest science experiments is “Sink or Float.” Just gather up some stuff on your living room floor and toss it in a bowl of water. Done. Science.

Okay, you could probably make it a little more educational.

First, make some predictions (hypotheses) about the objects. An easy way to do this is group them into “sink” and “float” piles. For older kids, make a chart of the objects, hypotheses, and actual results. You can make your own or print one from the handy internet.

Next, the fun part. Test the objects in water. This is a hit with all ages. Who doesn’t love dropping things in water?

Then, discuss the results and draw conclusions. Ah, the learning part. Were your hypotheses correct? What do the sinking objects have in common? What makes an object float?

I always like to follow up an experiment with a good book. Check out library books with a 532 call number or try some of my favorites:

Magic School Bus Ups and Downs: A Book about Floating and Sinking by Joanna Cole

The girls decided it would be a fun game to cut up yarn. I’m not sure how the came up with idea or how they stayed interested in it for so long. It kept them occupied and it was great cutting practice for my three-year-old, so I was happy. I was slightly less enthusiastic when my living room was covered in bits of yarn. Hmmm… What to do? Well for starters we played my fun game of “Who can pick up the most yarn in her baggie?” Then we made some art.

Big Sis used some steady hands to make lines and shapes with the Elmer’s glue. Then she carefully found pieces of yarn to place on her glue lines.

Little Sis also had a great time plopping glue on a paper and then sticking yarn on. She wasn’t as concerned about getting it on the lines….

We also practiced some sight words. First I wrote the word with glue and Big Sis placed the yarn on the lines. Then we switched and she got to write with glue. You could do the same with letters, numbers, or shapes.

If you can learn with cans, why not boxes? We collected empty cardboard boxes for a few weeks to make “box blocks.” For boxes that didn’t close on their own, I taped them shut. The kids really got excited about adding to our box collection. And we were able to see just how many boxes our family uses…and have a talk about the importance of recycling! That is a learning experience in itself, but here are some other things you can teach with boxes…

Common Core Standards appear in italics. They correlate with specific standards in different grade levels. These standards are used in almost every school in the country. Click the Common Core tab above to learn more.)

Colors- Talk about the different colors on the boxes, then divide them into groups or make a rainbow.

Size- Compare sizes of boxes. Put them in order from smallest to biggest.

Counting– How many boxes in all? Count how many you can stack in a tower.

Geometry- Talk about 2D vs 3D. Use the word rectangular prism. How many rectangles make up a box? (kindergarten- Identify shapes as two-dimensional or three-dimensional)

Measurement- Use a ruler to measure boxes length, width, and depth. (second grade- Measure and estimate lengths in standard units)

Classification- Sort the boxes into groups based on color, size, or type of food. (kindergarten- Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count)

Reading– Beginning readers might be able to read some of the labels using the picture as a clue. If they know it is a pizza box, see if they can pick out the word “pizza.”

Letters- Try to make letters or even words out of the small boxes.

Creative building– Design your own sculpture with box blocks!

Or combine all the above into a scavenger hunt. Scatter the boxes around the room and then shout out things to find. “Find a green box and bring it to me. Which box would we use to eat breakfast? Find the largest box. Can you find the letter T on a box?” This is great way to get kids moving and learning at the same time.

We recently discovered water beads. You see, there is this thing called “Pinterest” that has all sorts of ideas for kids. You should really check it out. 🙂 So I ordered some from Amazon (a 2-oz pack of Jelly Beadz), but I hear you get them even cheaper at dollar stores or floral supply stores.

Water beads are awesome. They start out tiny and very hard, then you soak them in water for a few hours. They soak up the water and become large and gelatinous. That is a cool word. But not cooler than water beads. Seriously. As fun as it is to feel then between your toes (try it!), you can also LEARN with them. I know. Mind blown.

Fine Motor Skills– They are SLIPPERY! It takes a steady hand and pincer grip to pick them up. Or try scooping them up one a time with a spoon. We even tried chopsticks. I think it is impossible.

Colors– Sort by color into smaller containers.

Language– Use adjectives to describe how water beads look, feel, etc.

Letters- Use the water beads to “hide” plastic letters, then go on a letter hunt.

Estimation– Choose a small container and estimate how many water beads will fill it up. Then find out!

Counting- Take turns grabbing handfuls and counting how many you can hold.

Addition and Subtraction- Math is more fun when you have wiggly water beads to add together or take away.

Patterns- Make a pattern with the colors. It is difficult to make the beads line up, but that is part of the fun!

Capacity– Kids will naturally want to fill up containers, so throw some measuring cups and let the kids explore. They can see firsthand how many 1/4 cups it takes to fill up a cup.

Hypothesize and Experiment- Do water beads bounce? Can you squish them? What happens when you put them in salt?